Might be hard to spin two years experience as the OP is just about to graduate. First tier cities are quite strict about the two year rule, so unless you want to work at a dodgy private school or worse on a F or L visa, you might want to look at other provinces.

I don't know where people are getting this 2 year restriction. It just isn't true. You can work your way up to 2 years if you really want a school that makes such a ridiculous demand.

I have looked for work in Shanghai, Shenyang, and now Beijing. I have never been asked about 2 years. Even with some college jobs, you can work your way up.

Decide where you want to live. It is easier to work your way up in the city you want to live than taking a job somewhere you don't want to live. If you do that, then you have to find how to get over to the city you want. That costs money, you have to learn a second area, and then you have to find stores that sell the things you bought regularly in location 1.

If you just went to location 2 first (where you wanted to live initially), then you could take a job, even a lesser paying job, work and then find another school without having to move a long distance. I got one job in Beijing, and then the second school came and drove my stuff to the second school. That would have never happened if I were in a different province. I doubt they would have done that if I had found a job in Hebei or Tianjin.

It looks outdated from 2010. Where does it specifically state this? I can only see other teachers posting this, but I have never seen a school, recruiter, or PSB in Shanghai, Shenyang, or Beijing ask about this.

It looks outdated from 2010. Where does it specifically state this? I can only see other teachers posting this, but I have never seen a school, recruiter, or PSB in Shanghai, Shenyang, or Beijing ask about this.

It's not the PSB who asks for this, it's SAFEA. They will not issue a foreign expert certificate without two years teaching experience. First tier cities usually abide by the two years teaching experience rule.

It looks outdated from 2010. Where does it specifically state this? I can only see other teachers posting this, but I have never seen a school, recruiter, or PSB in Shanghai, Shenyang, or Beijing ask about this.

It's not the PSB who asks for this, it's SAFEA. They will not issue a foreign expert certificate without two years teaching experience. First tier cities usually abide by the two years teaching experience rule.

I don't want to turn this into a big argument. There are 2 main points. I never talked with SAFEA regarding my qualifications. I talked with the PSB through my school. Regardless if you are right or not, PSB would be the one communicating what needs to be done. If SAFEA says I need it, then it is PSB repeating that demand. They never did. I got 1 work visa (Z visa), 1 foreign expert certificate, and 2 residence permits without needing to show any previous experience.

The second point is practical expectations. If you come to China, you have many options for work, and you can get a visa to work legally here without 2 years of experience (I know myself and a few other teachers who came straight out of college, and yes it was legal, they got their paperwork finished and did the visa run just like I did getting a Z visa and residence permit after returning.) Whether or not it is preferred is a moot point. You can work 2 years if you really want to be accepted into schools that have this requirement.

I can show my passport if you must see and my foreign expert certificate I have now. I didn't need to show any previous work experience.

I wish people would address the practical things teachers need to be aware of more like housing, salary, and workload. These are issues that can make or a break a deal. It's not experience of you are qualified.

This will be my final comment on this. If you want to believe you need 2 years of experience, then get your 2 years out of China and then come. Your choice. I suggest coming to China and seeing for yourself. China is very good with getting your visa straightened out, and even though there are bad schools, don't paint them all with the same brush. They are not all the same.

This will be my final comment on this. If you want to believe you need 2 years of experience, then get your 2 years out of China and then come. Your choice. I suggest coming to China and seeing for yourself. China is very good with getting your visa straightened out, and even though there are bad schools, don't paint them all with the same brush. They are not all the same.

I was searching for this thread because I remembered reading about it.

I graduated this December and have been talking to recruiters online (yeah, it's not a great start, but I gotta have some connection to potential employers). They have given me a great amount of pushback on the 2 year experience thing. One of them has basically said she won't be able to find anything for me, and the others have come up blank so far.

Anyone got some advice for a recent graduate looking for a starter job without the 2 years experience?